Arun Pandey

New Delhi | 18 May 2017

In continuance with its focus on agriculture and north east, Cabinet Committee approved the proposal of for the establishment of Indian Agricultural Institute (IARI) in Assam. The institute would be set up in Dhemaji district at a cost of Rs 155 crore.

The official statement from agri ministry said, “lARI – Assam would be a Post-Graduate Institution of higher learning in Agricultural Education.   It will have the hallmark identity of an IARI including all sectors of agriculture like field crops, horticultural crops, agro-forestry, animal husbandry, fisheries, poultry, piggery, silk rearing, honey production, etc”.

It will be an off-campus of IARI, New Delhi and integrated multi-disciplinary research would be undertaken in school mode i.e. Schools of Crop Sciences, Natural Resource Management, and Animal Sciences & Fisheries. It will be set up on 587 acres of land provided by the government of Assam and with 100 percent budget outlay from Centre.

In 2014, the Modi government had approved two such institutes – one in Ranchi and the other in Assam. Construction of the one in Ranchi has already started. The IARI-Assam will be the third such institute after those in New Delhi and Ranchi. It will have student capacity of 67 for MSc and 106 for PhD in agricultural sciences programmes. By 2020-21, the institute will produce about 90 PhD students every year.

IARI-Assam would work on the agrarian challenges and complexities of North Eastern India in tandem with all existing Central and State Government R&D Institutions and Private sector enterprises.    It would undertake research, education, extension programs in its mission towards developing quality human resource, generation of farmer-friendly technologies to enhance productivity, quality and profitability, promote agro-based industries and generate employment opportunities for holistic and sustainable development of the agriculture sector in the North Eastern region.

About 85 per cent of the population in Assam is dependent on agriculture.

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